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Johann Joachim Becher

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Johann Joachim Becher was a German scholar, physician and alchemist whose 1667 Physica Subterranea proposed that combustible bodies contain a fatty earth, terra pinguis, released into the air as they burn. Georg Ernst Stahl renamed and developed this idea into phlogiston around 1703, and the combined theory dominated chemistry until Antoine Lavoisier's oxygen theory replaced it. Becher was also an early advocate of what became cameralist economic policy at several German courts.

Facts
Birth Year
1635 1
Death Year
1682 1
Field
Chemistry and alchemy 1
Cross-Tradition Connections

Proposed

Becher's 1667 Physica Subterranea proposed the terra pinguis, fatty earth, concept that Stahl renamed phlogiston and developed into the full theory around 1703.

Sources
1. Johann Joachim Becher (Wikipedia)
WikipediaLead section
Quote, Lead section
Johann Joachim Becher (German: [ˈbɛçɐ]; 6 May 1635 – October 1682) was a German physician, alchemist, precursor of chemistry, scholar, polymath and adventurer, best known for his terra pinguis theory which became the phlogiston theory of combustion, and his advancement of Austrian cameralism.
View the Source
Phlogiston Theory (Wikipedia)
WikipediaProposed: Phlogiston TheoryView the Source
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